TransLink planning bus rapid transit from Park Royal to Metrotown

Burrard Inlet Rapid Transit concepts of two North Shore SkyTrain lines via the Second Narrows: Gold Line from Park Royal to downtown Vancouver via Hastings, and Purple Line from Park Royal to Brentwood Town Centre Station and Metrotown Station via Willingdon Avenue. (North Shore Connects)

Over the last few years, several studies by the provincial and municipal governments have identified potential concepts of building a SkyTrain extension serving the North Shore of Metro Vancouver, establishing a third fixed crossing across Burrard Inlet.

But the possibility of fully grade-separated rail rapid transit like SkyTrain is deemed to be a long-term possibility, as TransLink is now planning to advance bus rapid transit (BRT) first within the short term.

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In an interview with Daily Hive Urbanized, West Vancouver councillor Sharon Thompson says she is concerned by the approach, suggesting that planning for the long-term rapid transit solution should begin sooner than later.

“We don’t know until we know the actual cost. We should be making a long-term solution as opposed to something that will be around for five or 10 years, and then reinvested and re-engaged again. It doesn’t make sense to me,” said Thompson.

“We don’t actually know what works on the North Shore. When you’re making regional transit investments, they should be prioritized on the economics, which is the cost-benefit analysis.”

She wants a feasibility study performed on BRT vs. street-level light rail transit (LRT) vs. SkyTrain, before TransLink lands on BRT, even for the short-term solution. Thompson adds she personally believes LRT could be a good fit, although emphasizing that it requires study.

TransLink’s R2 Marine Drive RapidBus (Bowinn Ma/Twitter)

“Where did rail transit fall off? They say that to accomplish this, they’ll proceed with planning and engagement work, but they should be doing that before deciding on technology. We should do a feasibility study. The thing with the BRT route is I’m not convinced that they can run it the way they can,” said Thompson, noting that all three mayors of the North Shore’s municipalities support TransLink’s new approach with buses.

TransLink says it is pursuing BRT for its significantly lower construction cost, and the ability to implement it faster than SkyTrain.

BRT is essentially an upgraded B-Line and RapidBus concept with features such as bus-only lanes, traffic signal priority, special bus stops with shelters and passenger amenities, and special higher-capacity buses.

An optimal BRT service built at a low cost also generally demands the reallocation of existing road space, which was previously a highly controversial issue in 2019 that led to TransLink’s decision to not proceed with extending the R2 RapidBus route further west beyond Park Royal to reach Dundarave in West Vancouver.

Artistic rendering of a BRT vehicle and station for the Brisbane Metro’s bus rapid transit system. (City of Brisbane)

According to the public transit authority, BRT carries an average $15 million per km cost, while SkyTrain is now at an average of $400 million per km.

Based on this very broad BRT cost average, the 20 km “Purple Line” route conceived last year by the municipal governments’ North Shore Connects partnership would theoretically be in the ballpark of $300 million — excluding any notable corridor-specific factors, such as the unique constraints of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge.

“Based on the urgent need to improve congestion on this corridor, the Transport 2050: 10-Year Priorities plan also proposes to immediately advance planning work for BRT in the short term, while we identify the eventual best technology for the corridor in the long term through a business case,” explained TransLink spokesperson Dan Mountain.

He adds that the Mayors’ Council could direct TransLink staff to create the business case to determine technology of the long-term rapid transit project concurrently with the planning and implementation of BRT. In such a scenario, a business case for long-term technology such as SkyTrain or LRT would be advanced in parallel with BRT implementation.

“This is because we can execute BRT quickly and relatively cheap, while we study the feasibility of potentially upgrading the corridor to have grade separated rapid transit technology like SkyTrain in the future,” continued Mountain.

Under the first 10-year priorities of the recently approved Transport 2050 plan, a business case will be performed to help determine what the best technology is for the North Shore to Burnaby corridor, whether it be BRT, LRT, SkyTrain, or a combination of the three technologies.

BRT also allows for ridership to further build up on the corridor, before the potential of high-capacity rail rapid transit is considered. The B-Line has been the precursor for all of the region’s most recent SkyTrain projects, including the original Millennium Line, Canada Line, and Millennium Line Evergreen Extension, and the future Millennium Line Broadway Extension to Arbutus and eventually UBC. The current various RapidBus routes also serve the same purpose of building up ridership for future transit improvements on the corridor.

This region does not have much history with real BRT, but it had some BRT infrastructure for the previous 98 B-Line route. In the early 2000s, tens of millions of dollars were spent to rebuild No. 3 Road between Bridgeport Road and CF Richmond Centre with a landscaped median that physically protected two bus-only lanes for the 98 B-Line, along with special bus shelters. But this configuration for No. 3 Road was short-lived for only five years, as the bus-only lanes were soon demolished mid-decade for the construction of the Canada Line.

TransLink is also eyeing significant new bus priority infrastructure for a portion of the R6 Scott Road RapidBus route, which is slated to launch in 2023. Under the 10-year priorities, the R6 will be further upgraded to the BRT standard later this decade.

r6 scott road rapidbus stop design 72 avenue

Artistic rendering of the southbound centre bus stop on Scott Road near 72 Avenue for the R6 Scott Road RapidBus. (TransLink)

Future condition of the intersection of Scott Road and Old Yale Road for the R6 Scott Road RapidBus. (TransLink)

Typical bus stop design for the R6 Scott Road RapidBus. (TransLink)

But the much higher cost of rail-based rapid transit options will likely escalate from waiting longer, with the Transport 2050: 10-Year Priorities plan outlining any possibility for rail rapid transit will not come until sometime in the 2030s at the very earliest. The 2016-built Evergreen Extension, for instance, was constructed at a cost of about $120 million per km, while the Broadway Extension to Arbutus would have cost up to $500 million less than the current budget of $2.8 billion if it were completed in 2020 as previously planned instead of the current timeline of 2025.

Planning for potential rail rapid transit earlier in parallel to BRT implementation could potentially save at least hundreds of millions of dollars — if not billions — over the longer term, as it would theoretically put SkyTrain or LRT into a shovel-ready position, allowing construction to begin quickly, as soon as funding is made available.

In September 2020, the provincial government released the findings of a high-level preliminary study of exploring SkyTrain extensions across Burrard Inlet to reach the North Shore. This study contemplated five route options.

The findings of the provincial government’s study were used as the baseline for another high-level preliminary study made by the municipal governments under their North Shore Connects partnership, which released the findings in October 2021. Although the study did not recommend SkyTrain, it used SkyTrain technology for the purpose of analysis and found that this technology could reduce 50,000 cars from local roads as the direct result of attracting new transit riders, and catalyze tens of thousands of new homes. It also narrowed down the provincial study’s route options to two route options via the Second Narrows — the Purple Route between Park Royal, PNE/Hastings Park, Brentwood Town Centre, and Metrotown, or the Gold Route between Park Royal, PNE/Hastings Park, and downtown Vancouver via Hastings Street.

“We have to see where the lines are going to land, and envision the density happening along those lines. We need this complete picture of what to expect, but to keep building and not knowing where our transit lines are going is not an appropriate process,” said Thompson.

north shore rapid transit study skytrain

September 2020 map of North Shore SkyTrain route options. (Government of BC)

north shore connects burrard inlet rapid transit skytrain

In January 2022, Burnaby City Council made clear it supported the “Purple Line” alignment serving its municipality over the “Gold Line” route serving Vancouver. The following month, all three North Shore municipal governments jointly requested TransLink to prioritize a rapid transit project that directly serves their jurisdictions, and the project was subsequently included in Transport 2050 and in the proposed first 10-year priorities. The previous public consultation performed on Transport 2050 made it clear BRT would take a greater role in the region’s rapid transit moving forward.

BRT serving the North Shore would be one of nine BRT routes identified by TransLink for the first 10-year priorities. Over the coming decade, TransLink is also planning BRT for the following routes.

Hastings Street (upgrade from R5 RapidBus)
King George Boulevard (Surrey to White Rock)
Langley – Haney Place (200 Street to Golden Ears Bridge to Lougheed Highway)
Lougheed Highway (upgrade from R3 RapidBus)
Lynn Valley – Downtown/Lonsdale (Lions Gate Bridge)
Metrotown – Park Royal (Second Narrows)
Marine Drive Station – 22nd Street Station (Marine Way)
Richmond Centre – Metrotown (Knight Street to Victoria Drive to 49th Avenue)
Scott Road (upgrade from R6 RapidBus)

These BRT routes are also in addition to more RapidBus routes.

TransLink recently concluded public consultation on its 10-year priorities, which include the SkyTrain Millennium Line extension to UBC, the Burnaby Mountain Gondola to SFU, and exploring other potential SkyTrain extensions to Port Coquitlam and Newton.

The 10-year priorities stipulate the UBC SkyTrain project will not proceed until the plan for nine BRT routes begins implementation.

The Mayors’ Council is expected to deliberate and decide on the 10-year priorities in a few weeks.

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